'Alright stay calm Arvin… You got this. You remember everything about the article that you read about the lie detector machines. When you lie, the rhythm of your heart and brain activity will get slightly heighten. That is the principle used in lie detector machines. So considering this machine also works this day you would have to tell lie as you own it…

At least you have to try' Arvin said to himself…

"I think this is the part where you answer all the questions that I ask you Mr. Lopt." The old woman said.

"Ah…. Yes. My name is Lopt." Arvin said nervously.

As the words came out of Arvin's mouth, he instantly knew that his cover was blown. He said those words too nervously. And there was no way in hell that the machine will rule this out as the truth. This will surely come out as a lie.

But as Arvin was convinced that this would be ruled out as a lie, the orb turned green. Which surprised Arvin…

"Good. Your name is Lopt. See this will not that difficult. Now for the next question…. Did you orchestrated the plan to kill and massacre all the people that were in the caravan from which you rescued those girls?" the old woman asked

"Hell no," Arvin said. And the orb turned green.

"Do you know the identity of the girls that you rescued?" the old woman asked.

"They told me their names…. Is that what you asking me?" Arvin asked.

"No… Before when they told you their names… Did you knew their identity from before you even met them personally?" the old lady asked.

"No…" Arvin said.

"Do you know something about the sacred temple of the fennec foxes?" the old lady asked.

"No…" Arvin blurted out fast. But the purpose of him doing so was to check why the orb turned green before? Did it mean that the orb does not work on him? Or did it meant that was only a one-time wonder? And to his surprise, the orb turned green.

"Good… Now I wanted to ask some questions about the Merchant. Now…" the old woman saying something before Arvin interrupted her…

"FUCK YOU! Now I am not telling you shit." Arvin said.

"Oh… You are loyal to the Merchant." The old woman asked.

"Yes, I am," Arvin said. And while he said that he saw that the orb changed its color to green. He wanted to check one last time the power of the orb. After he did that, he removed the hands from the orb.

"You know he would not be able to save you from this place." The old woman said.

"I doubt that," Arvin said.

"You think very highly of him." the old woman said.

"Yes, I do," Arvin said.

"And what do you think would happen to the girls that you were with if you fail to cooperate?" the old woman asked.

"I think they would be just fine… And I know for sure that Velma should be out there somewhere listening to this conversation right now." Arvin said.

"Oh… You sure about that?" the old woman asked.

"Yes… When I cured Velma and she woke up, she acted all cocky like she was some bigshot or something. At that time I thought that she was just being suspicious of my intentions. And I got that so I didn't ask anything else. But then your question about those girls' identities was a dead giveaway that Velma must be someone important. That is why you were asking those questions.

Secondly, since I got here, I was being escorted by fennec foxes. That means that I am someplace that is used by Fennec Foxes like the stone city. So it would mean that Velma is sure involved in this. Or otherwise, for a normal human-like Tamaria I wouldn't be here…." Arvin said.

"Impressive. You are smarter from what you seem." The old woman said.

"I know that… Now get to the point old lady… What do you want?" Arvin asked.

"What do I want?" the old lady repeated Arvin's question.

"Yes… The way I see it, from the events that are happening right now, the fennec foxes and the Aurora clan are having a dispute over something. So I can say for sure that you wouldn't hand me over to them. So why the hell are you still holding me captive here? What the hell do you want from me?" the old woman asked.

"Quite impressive." The old lady said.

"Thanks… Now get to the point." Arvin said.

"Bakemono." The old lady said.

"Bakemono… Do you mean the Bakemono? The henchman of the Merchant?'' Arvin asked.

"Yes. Him."

"*haha*…. Wait you are serious?" Arvin said.

"Yes, we are." The old woman said.

"But why? I mean I would love to see him again… But he is my mentor. What the hell does the fennec clan want from him?" Arvin asked.

"He has possess something that is the property of the sacred council. And we want it back." The old lady said.

"Property of sacred council?... A moment ago you asked me something about a sacred temple…. So what did that guy stole? A holy scripture or something?" Arvin asked.

"You don't need to know that. What we want is to contact him and set up a meet-up with us." The old lady said.

"Sure… But I cant…." Arvin said.

"You can't?" the old lady repeated. Arvin then put his hand on the orb again and then he said…

"It is true that I know him… But I have no way of contacting him." Arvin said while putting his hand on the orb. Following Arvin's comment, the orb turned green.

When the old lady saw that he was disappointed. She then started thinking about another way from which they could use Arvin to get in touch with Bakemono. Recently sacred council has captured Gracie and her comrades. And after intense torture, Gracie admitted that the two pieces of the key are with a man called Bakemono. And he is the henchman of the Merchant.

As the sacred council got the news of what Bakemono did, they became alarmed. That man was able to kill a Rank-1 Magus. That too in a single blow. That showed that he was very strong. And if that man started searching for all the pieces of the key to the sacred temple then there would be hardly anything that they would be able to do to stop him. So the sacred council decided that it would be for the best if a piece of key that they possess be kept somewhere they could at least have a chance to protect it.

So it was decided that it would be safer if the piece of the key is given to the guardian of the fennec foxes on the third and the second floor. The guardian of the whole fennec clan Zurama. He is a peak, rank-1 Magus. As that Bakemono already killed a Rank-1 Magus, the sacred council had very little confidence that Zurama would be able to do something to him. But it was better than having it guarded by someone with less power.

So in the end Velma daughter of one of the elders of the sacred council was given the responsibility to bring the piece of the key to the stone city. And she had to do it discreetly. But in between, they were attacked. The intelligence was not able to find, which clan was responsible for this. After all, there was a high chance that the bandit was orchestrated by some clan that got the wind about Velma.

Right now all the higher security personnel are trying to find whether who is the mole in their ranks. But still, they are not able to find anything…

So the old woman had to decide about whether she wants to invite Bakemono to this place. After all, this place had the piece of the key. So inviting him here would mean that they would lose all the hopes of ever getting to see the sacred temple…

"I just want to add that killing or torturing me will not ensure that Bakemono would come here… I am a trainee… I have not officially joined their organization. Yet." Arvin said while putting his hand on the orb.

As Arvin gave his statement, the orb changed its color to green. Seeing the color the old woman started to think about what else she should do? He was indeed telling the truth. So what could do next…

As the old woman was thinking, Arvin was happy. He was happy that with this he has the chance to get out of here without any mishaps. But his happiness and the old lady's thought process were interrupted when the gate of their room was opened abruptly.

From the gate, a strong old man came…

"I AM BUSY HERE!" the old lady screamed.

"We have a situation… People from the Bahamut empire are here." The old man said.

"What? Why?" the old lady asked.

"They are here for him. According to them, he was involved in Alman's murder." The old man said…

"Huh?" the old woman exclaimed sounding confused. While on the other hand Arvin…

'HOW THE FUCK DID THEY FOUND OUT?' Arvin thought.